Guardian
by Sayo124
Summary: :Sometimes he stays up late to watch her.: Inuyasha's one obsession: Kagome. And the only time he would ever admit that was when he watched her at night. -fluff mostly. oneshot.-


_Guardian_

Sometimes he stays up late so he can watch her.

Of course, no one can know that—there would be teasing abound and drawn-out humiliation. There would be side-long smirks and "all-knowing" glances. There may even be a few jeers and playful comments—not that there wasn't _always_ some sort of jeers and comments, but it the principle of the matter, dammit!

He usually nestles into the homey branches of a tree and relaxes, probably appearing to his companions to be dozing off, if not already lost within the blissful oblivion of sleep. However, he doesn't usually fall asleep so easily—save nights after a hard battle. Instead, he calmly waits for everyone else to settle down and make themselves cozy in their blankets and waits for their heartbeats to slow and their breathing to steady. Then, and only then, does he peek open an eye to ensure that no one is conscious. And it is not until he's sure that no one is faking or half awake the he turns his full attention to her—

But when he does, time flutters away and becomes a nonexistent entity. He soaks up every detail he can, traces the contours of the curves and dips of her body beneath the blanket she cuddles. Of course, he has already memorized everything about her and can summon an image of her to mind at any time—and even in his mind he can see her long eyelashes glisten blue in the sunlight; he can see the perfect pink hue of her lips; he can even count out her lashes every time she blinks. Though he would, of course, tell no one, there was some natural beauty about her that took his breath away—something he had never experienced or seenbefore, not even in _her,_ not really anyway.

And, gods, how he hated when she got upset about _her_: The unnecessary arguments and quiet nights around the fire; her sullen demeanor and secret sighs; her quietly stifled tears—did she not think that he could _smell_ the influx of salt? Didn't she know that somehow, in some way he would never be able to put into words, he could almost _feel _her suffering? He would never say it aloud, but she had unknowingly stolen his complete and utter devotion from _her_, had managed tempt him into submission without even trying, without even knowing.

And now, as he stares down at her, he can't help but smile. Not a toothy grin; no, never that. It's a small upturn of his lips, a softening of his eyes, content relaxing his expression and melting something inside him. It's utter bliss—bliss is all he can feel as he stares down at her, feeling her with his eyes, imagining what it would be like to snuggle up with her beneath her blankets as the kitsune brat does.

How he envied that child sometimes.

The child didn't understand just how fortunate he was that he could jump under the covers with her; latch onto her and cling to her as he slept. He got to feel the contours of her against his small body, was allowed to feel her heartbeat against his own, could feel the breeze of her slow, even breathing tickle his ears as he slept peacefully.

Sometimes he drove Inuyasha simply mad with the envy—he would kill to be able to trade places with the kit for even a minute. But he couldn't do anything of the sort. She would probably never stand for such a thing. Despite the fact that he liked to imagine that she swept him long glances that held more meaning than she was letting on, despite how he fostered the fantasies Miroku and Sango harbored about her feelings toward him, he couldn't—just downright _couldn't_—honestly picture her caring for him on that level. She was simply too kind, caring, and naïve—that is, she thought of him as a best friend; a great companion.

But still, persistently, he hoped. He hoped for nothing more than he did that. He thought of nothing more than he did that. It haunted his mind, drove him mad. During the day he could preoccupy himself with their task and the jewel, but at night…

He often lost track of how long he spent watching her. For some reason, he couldn't think of many things that were more relaxing or peaceful than that. He would sit for a good portion of the night watching her shift in her sleep, watching her sigh contentedly at her dreams—and oh, how he convinced himself that she dreamt of him. Sometimes, he would _swear _that she murmured his name to herself as she slept, and it made his heart leap every time.

But he wouldn't fool himself.

She was unattainable; from another dimension—another time altogether. He had no hope with her. He doubted—in fact, he was quite sure—that he would ever confess the severity of his feelings for her.

But he fantasizes about it.

He often wonders what her lips feel like. He wonders if they're soft; if they would mold perfectly against his own. He wonders if she would ever again talk to him if he stole a kiss. As he stares down at her, gaze transfixed on her perfectly pink lips, he wonders if she would ever kiss him. Sometimes when they fight and get up in each other's face, lips bare centimeters away with her hot breath misting his lips enticingly, he wonders how she would react if he leaned forward, bridged the small gap between them, and planted a small, gentle kiss upon her. Would her anger dissipate? Or would it blossom further, outraged at his audacity?

He often wonders things of that sort to himself as he stares down at her. It's only during the night that he allows himself to indulge in his innocent fantasies. It's only under the cover of night that he can soak her in and enjoy her presence all he wants.

It's what gets him through the day.

**Yeah. It's been a while. The **_**Inuyasha**_** passion was drained from me after I finished **_**A Dark Past**_** and I never thought I'd write another piece for the genre again. And yet, a year and a half later, I stumble upon the series once more and have the flame rekindled for it. **

**This just spilled from my fingers. I literally had no idea what I was going to write until it came out. Comments welcome and appreciated. I hope I managed to capture the atmosphere correctly.**

**I hope that it was also clear who everyone was—the **"she"** being Kagome and the italicized **"_her_" **being Kikyou. If you didn't know that, you do now. XD?**

**I may write more oneshots for **_**Inuyasha**_**, I may start another journey with another Fiction, I may not write anything else for a while. We'll see how things go?**

**EDIT: I read over and corrected the few grammatical mistakes. And, to my absolute surprise, this oneshot has been nominated into the Feudal Association (under the oneshot category). Soooo… if you're able to vote and you enjoyed this, please send a vote my way? It'd mean the world if you did. :)**

**Ja ne. :)**


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